Hong Kong  (Jan 2009)

One of my friend from Hong Kong once said proudly, "Hong Kong is the No.1 modern city in the world with many skyscrapers, fashion malls and fine restaurants....", although I was not 100% convinced, it is interesting to go there to explore what happened after my last visit in 2002.  At the end of 2008, it came true.

The 6-day trip plan is as follows:

1. Fly from NYC to HK, stay at North Corner （北角）

2. Causeway bay （铜锣湾）

3. HKUST （科大）

4. Saigon （西贡），Tsim Sha Tsui （尖沙咀），Victoria Peak（太平山） and the Center （中环）

5.  Stanley(赤柱），Deep water bay（深水湾), stay at Tsing-yi (青衣）

6.  Lantau (大屿山)

Dining:

Although it is the said to be the heaven for eaters, I kind of felt disappointed. I had to admit I had really high expectation and compared them with the high level restaurant  I tried. But it still has some highlights such as Lung King Heen (龙景轩), Chuen Kee Seafood Restaurant (全记)， Honeymoon Dessert (满记)，Superstar Seafood Restaurant (红星), and Prince of Bun. Most of time I was trying the Chinese restaurants there, and I realized that the standard for Chinese food in Hong Kong was authentic and traditional. Different from it, the mainland now has more creative dishes with many varieties.

Sightseeing:

The best impression is Hong Kong's night. The light show at Tsim Sha Tsui  is a must-see experience, way better than the light show in Luxor. The river, the light, and skyscrapers (the most distinguished one is Bank of China) altogether, performed a most fantastic and splendid show.

Then it is Victoria Peak, a romantic place to see the sun-set and night view. There is also a Madame-Tussauds at the peak featuring many Hong Kong stars such as Miriam Yeung, Kelly Chan, Twins etc.

I took a half-day taxi tour with Simon, since I had been to all the famous places, he took me to somewhere not listed on the travel guide. It is Stanley,  a western style town by the sea. I could not believe Hong Kong has a small and quiet town like those in the US. There is a farmer market, a board walk, and some historical building which was moved from the the center city by the English. Sami told me the British loved this place and they did not allow Chinese to step in, what a shame! I also found some historical pillars.

The last day I decided to go to Lantau to visit the largest Buda statue. I took the subway from Tsing-Yi and then switched to the bus to continue onto the mountain. It is the only undeveloped rural place in Hong Kong with many trees, farm lands and few people. For about 1.5 hours, I got to Po Lin Monastery (宝莲禅寺). Looking upforward from the mountain foot, the golden Buda Statue is gorgeously sitting in the sky with clouds around him. After climbing onto hundreds of steps, I got a closer look. His eyes are long and smiling, looks very gentle and nice, sitting on the lotus seat.

Shopping:

No trip to Hong Kong can complete without shopping. I wonder if it has the largest density of stores in the world. Fashions, jewelries, cosmetics, from low level to upper end, you can find anything in Hong Kong. But on the other hand, you can also find the similar staff in the States or China. I just can not understand: do you really need to go to Hong Kong for shopping?